My god! I’m awestruck, confounded, enthralled and bewitched! You, have not only restored my belief that there is going to be an extraordinary long life for harry potter, but you have shattered my belief that only good writers get published! It was awesome. I have had to sneak in sessions at work to finish this awesome piece of writing off. Every moment I was (I’m sorry to repeat myself) but... bewitched is the only word that springs to mind. It is a stunning story the plot is just if not more creative than jk’s, (but let’s not go there) this is yours. You have made it your own, but still sticking to how we the readers view the characters to maintain our pristine bleary eyed vision of them. Your use of Snape is brilliant love it! The way you have portrayed him is perfect you have given me what I have so poorly been denied... belief in his characters ‘good’ side. He is such a complex character and you have given us an insight into his amazing psyche that has never been explored before. Dumbledore is good but leaves a little to be desired in parts but nothing worse than slight misgivings that I may have picked up due to jk. In which I apologise to all those readers screaming seeker_1690 how could you say that... you have stuck to the original essence of your story which astounds me and not drifted like so many others do. Although the building up of this dark stalker character does concern me (to mirror another commenter) a little, but not in the context of the story, but I’m sure as you have shown with the rest of the story it will develop and have a major impact. This excites me! as I’m sure it does a lot of other readers there is so much more I want to say, and I’m sorry if you disagree with anything I’ve said but you have restored my faith, and honestly you have made me smile.

Anyway, I'm really flattered by your wonderful compliments! I'm so glad you've found my take on JKR's world and her characters compelling and entertaining. As for Snape, long before we had DH, I always felt there was more to him that meets the eye. Considering all that he must have sacrificed over the years to do what he's doing, I thought he deserved a respectful nod. To that end, I've tried to humanize him for my readers and hopefully help them to look at him in a different way.

I know he'll never teacher of the year, but I wanted people to appreciate his plight and what he's done. I guess in the end, JKR felt the same way and wanted to clear his name. :)

As the next couple of chapters are revealed, you will see more of the dark figure and how it truly fits into the puzzle. I hope you will continue to enjoy what you read as the story develops.

And just so you know, you've made me smile too, seeker 1690. :) Thank you for your uplifting and affirming words of support!!

As for the next installment...I've written the first scene of chapter 34 so far and I've summarized the remainder of the chapter. I'll post again as soon as I can, but I have to be honest. It will probably be September before I finish and post. I hope you will find the next installment worth the wait.